Singer-actress Ruma Guha Thakurta passes away at the age of 84

Kolkata woke up to some sad news on the morning of June 3. Eminent singer-actress, Ruma Guha Thakurta, passed away at the age of 84 at her

Ballygunge

Place residence at 6.15 am. The veteran artiste was suffering from age-related issues and breathed her last while she was asleep. She is survived by her sons singer Amit Kumar, Arup Guha Thakurta and daughter Shromona.

Ruma was born in Kolkata in 1934. Her mother, Sati Devi, was a very renowned singer of those times. Ruma married singer Kishore Kumar in 1951and settled in Mumbai post her marriage. But in 1958, her marriage with Kishore Kumar ended and she later married Arup Guha Thakurta in 1960.

She started working in the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) as a child artiste when she was 10 years old. Later, she debuted in the film Jwar Bhata in 1944, which, incidentally, was also Dilip Kumar’s debut film. Ruma started the Bombay Youth Choir along with Salil Chowdhury and Shankar Shailendra. Much later, around 1958, when she came back to Kolkata, Ruma founded the

Calcutta Youth Choir

that is now run by singer Kalyan Sen Barat.

Ruma has also worked with Satyajit Ray in films like Abhijan (1962) and Ganashatru (1988). Apart from these, she has played pivotal roles in films like Balika Badhu, Antony Firingee and Amrita Kumbher Sandhane. Until a few days back, Ruma was staying with her son Amit Kumar for three months in his Mumbai residence. Amit is flying down from Mumbai by today afternoon and will complete the final rites of the late singer-actress.